RUN Wenatchee

By Steve Maher
RunWenatchee.com

A survey of RunWenatchee’s Thursday Run Club participants has revealed respondents wanting more theme runs, training clinics and group runs during the weekly Thursday activity.

About 180 people completed the online survey, which was conducted from mid-February through March 2.  More than 60 percent of the respondents were women. More than 100 people took time to write suggestions on ways to improve Run Club.

Survey respondents listed the fitness benefits of Run Club as the top reason they participate, followed by the beauty of the Columbia River and riverfront parks, and the satisfaction of reaching milestones and earning shirts. The feeling that people are part of a true running/walking community also ranked high.

Since Run Club started on Jan. 3, 2013, more than 40,000 check-ins — or ‘runner-visits’ — have been recorded.

“The responses have given us some really good ideas to improve the Run Club experience for everyone,” said Joel Rhyner of RunWenatchee. “We will be adding some theme runs, for sure, and we are looking at ways to make it easier for runners and walkers to meet each other. One idea is to hold a group run within the two-hour time window of Run Club. There are other ways, too.”

As part of the survey, RunWenatchee held a drawing among those who completed the questionnaire. The winner of a free RunWenatchee race entry was Brook Stewart and the winner of a RunWenatchee shirt was Cooke Martinez.